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Until recently the middleweight division has been a barren plain with Bernard Hopkins and Howard Eastman the only two true world class fighters after the retirement of William Joppy.
A dilapidated Robert Allen made an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone Hopkins in a bout that should never have been sanctioned. Jermain Taylor simply hasn't fought any bona fide high quality middleweights, and as a result should not be considered a legitimate contender at the moment.
Although he holds wins over the likes of Alex Bunema and Raul Marquez, they didn't really have much ambition remaining and quite simply were blown up light middleweights. Certainly it doesn't even seem wise to make the quantum leap to boxers like Hopkins, Eastman, or even Allen at this juncture.
With that being said there is now a sudden influx of newfound talent in the middleweight division. An increase of talented new faces could allow for some absolutely mouth watering super-fights to be made. This evaluation goes as such:
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Vargas would be a great name for someone like Jermain Taylor to have on his record. A tough fighter with the ambition and power of Vargas would be a great win for Taylor.
A potential match up with Howard Eastman would probably bring less money, but would likely be a war which Vargas probably loses inside of six or seven rounds. A battle with Ashira would be interesting as it seems the African warrior has a weaker chin than was previously thought. It's doubtful that Vargas can garner a major belt in the near future or as long as Hopkins holds onto the major belts. Past that the honest truth is simple; if he didn't have the chin to mix it in the division below, he will probably get over powered and stopped by most top level middleweights mentioned here. However, he probably still has a proverbial punchers chance against just about anyone out there. He will likely make some interesting fights as he almost always does as well as the money to go along with it.
Roman Karmazin 32(21)-1-1 - The useful Russian has demonstrated his ability on many occasions. With a profound win over the serviceable and highly rated Michael Rask as well as a win over the tough and awkward Sergey Tatevosyan he is certainly not to be underestimated. 21 knockouts in 32 contests show that he can punch a bit. He is also a tall and awkward with a tough chin, but shows a tendency to cut.
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Since Hennesy Sports was able to make the fight with David Walker, they may be able to line up Karmazin for Howard Eastman some time soon. At this point it's probably the best chance he has got of getting a world class opponent, however I believe it would be a mistake for Karmazin to take on Eastman so early into his middleweight foray. His management should know there could only be one likely outcome for that match right now.
He almost certainly will not win a world title, but Roman could give some of the middleweights in the division fits with his awkward style. He is definitely one new comer to watch.
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It's anyone's guess if he will stick around at this weight after the Trinidad fight and actually it could depend on the result of that bout. He may just be able to capitalize on a ring rusty Trinidad. If he can, a mega fight with Hopkins could be in the cards, but for my money he won't make the distance with Trinidad. If he does I'm confident he will lose a lopsided decision. After being hit with power shots from Trinidad, it's entirely plausible he will lick his wounds and go after Spinks-Mayorga 2 at 154. If he doesn't he could still make some very entertaining match ups with the likes of Vargas, Ashira, Joval and Allen.
If he were to beat Tito a title fight could beckon. I don't think that Mayorga would fare well against Hopkins, Eastman or Taylor and with just a 69' reach they all outdistance him by 3 to 6 inches which could prove telling. Taylor is probably too technically sound for Mayorga to beat, and he has proved he can deal with the speed of lighter fighters.
Eastman probably has too much raw power and is so hungry for a bona fide world class opponent that he would likely rip Mayorga to shreds. And we all know what Hopkins can do. Although Mayorga is an awkward and ugly fighter, he just doesn't have the acumen and hasn't been in with the caliber of opponents to have anything more than a punchers chance against Nard.
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It seems entirely probable that he will next try to fight a genuine middleweight with some ambition; something which he has yet to do. Assuming he does that and looks good in doing so, he certainly will be in position to challenge for a world title sometime in the next two years. Starting with the likes of Sam Soliman or Raymond Joval, who are not great fighters but guys who are not going to lie down either, would be a huge step in that direction. This caliber of fighter he will need to be able to beat relatively easily before he looks at the likes of a Robert Allen.
From there he can then look at taking on fighters like Eastman and eventually Hopkins. At the moment I don't think he is ready for either of those two because he simply doesn't have the ring acumen and experience necessary.
With an influx of good fighters in the division, it shouldn't be difficult to get himself a match up with a good quality opponent whenever his management chooses. Unlike many of the fighters in the middleweight division, Taylor has time on his side at a 'young' 25. He can afford to take his time to get the ring experience necessary to go against better fighters and enable him to cope with the top tier of middleweights. He already has the skill and God given ability to put him in that league so he just needs to make sure he gets the necessary ring experience.
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The question now has to be: just how good was DLH at middleweight? I suppose the German's position will become clearer after Hopkins/DLH and his next bout versus a quality opponent. If Hopkins blows him out we will know the German is perhaps not as good as he looked versus DLH. If DLH gives Hopkins problems we will know the German is pretty useful. (Or Hopkins is over the hill...) Until then, he will remain something of an enigma, and the only thing which can be certain is he is young, hungry and desperate to get another shot at a world title.
